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Report Calls for Future Invesment in Nissan Stadium

Nissan Stadium will need of significant investment in capital improvements over the next 20 years, according a newly-released report.

On Thursday, the Venue Solutions Group detailed its findings in a report that addresses the future of two Nashville facilities–the Tennessee Titans‘ Nissan Stadium, and Bridgestone Arena, home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The report concluded that, combined, the venues are going to need about $477 million in improvements over the next 20 years to remain viable facilities.

Nissan Stadium accounts for a significant portion of that cost, as the report found that the stadium will alone need $293.2 million in capital improvements of the 20 year span. The venue opened in 1999, and the Titans–who say they intend to continue playing at the facility–are to remain there under the terms of a lease that expires in 2028.

To make Nissan Stadium viable for that period and beyond, the report finds that several areas will need to be addressed. Among the areas that future improvements could address include technology, lighting, and many other areas of the facility. More from The Tennessean:

“These are big, complicated, expensive facilities,” said Larry Atema of Commonwealth Development Group, a contractor for Metro that worked with the consultants. “We just looked at everything from technology, food service, elevators, escalators, architectural features, waterproofing and roofs, and just said, ‘This stuff is going to wear out over time. When is that time likely to be?’ “

At Nissan Stadium, which cost $290 million to build in the late 1990s, the report identified several issues with the main video boards even though they were updated five years ago. The stadium’s broadcasting cabling system is in poor condition, according to consultants, and the stadium has insufficient camera locations for national broadcasts.

Architecturally, the assessment characterizes Nissan Stadium as uninspiring, the result of “cost cutting in design and construction” when it was built.

Lighting throughout the stadium has largely gone unchanged, the report says, as has most of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The report says the main and upper concourses appear unfinished because of exposed unpainted concrete.

There are plenty of details that will need to be addressed by Nashville Metro and Metro Sports Authority officials. Thorough action plans for both facilities will have to be crafted, and another matter is the upcoming budget from mayor Megan Barry that proposes that Nashville Metro’s annual subsidy for Nissan Stadium’s capital needs jump from $1 million to $1.5 million.